11
The air on the side of the mountain was cold, even through her borrowed snowsuit. It was clear enough now that she could see for miles and miles, the mountains stretching toward the Allegheny Plateau to the south. A little light snow was falling, making everything bright, powdery white. It would be perfect to snowshoe through.
But she wasn’t snowshoeing right now.
Brad was only wearing a light jacket; he had told Rachel that too much clothing made him feel bulky when he flew. It seemed strange, when she was in her full snowsuit.
“All right,” he said. “First a little dragon magic, and then we’ll be off.”
“More magic?” She’d seen more magic in a day than she’d ever believed possible. Now there was something new and amazing.
“Just a little more,” he said, and took her into his arms for a kiss.
His breath was warm, filling her body like she’d just taken a drink of steaming hot coffee. But the warmth tingled too. It felt like something pure and golden was being poured into her, top to bottom. She put her arms tight around him and kissed back, passionately. She didn’t want this feeling to stop.
“All right,” he said. “Now you’re ready to fly.”
“What—what did that do?” It felt like her senses were all hyper-aware, and her skin was tingling.
“A little adjustment. You won’t be as cold, and more importantly, you’ll be able to breathe through any changes in air pressure. This way, you can fly as high as a dragon can.”
She shook her head in wonder. “How high is that?”
“I’m going to show you,” he said, and transformed.
She felt his skin change, his bones rearranging. But it wasn’t scary or confusing. It was…well, magical. A sense of wonder filled her. How did he manage doing this? How—
Magic was real, and it was holding her in its arms, as gently and carefully as if she was a precious jewel to protect. Standing on his hind legs he was just over seven feet, his long neck starting at her chin and then stretching over her head. His tail curled behind him, about half the length of his body. She felt little of his enormous strength as he held her.
She felt his muscles bunch for only a fraction of a second, and then they were flying.
The view she’d been so impressed by just a minute ago seemed small compared to what she saw. It was better than a helicopter—there was no glass in the way. Instead, she saw the mountains below her, the sun peeking out through a cloud just to the east to illuminate the brilliant white snow. It looked like white fire at the edge between shadow and sunlight.
“It’s beautiful,” she said, wondering if Brad could hear her.
His mighty wings flapped, and they were speeding across the sky. It was a steady, gentle motion, like being in a kayak just skimming the surface of the water. Only looking at the way Brad passed over the peaks showed her how quickly they were moving.
His grip on her waist was firm and strong, his talons curled around her. She felt warm, despite the cold air brushing past her face, and it was easy to breathe, even when the wings beat a second time and they flew through, then above, the clouds. She tightened her grip around his neck, but it was really just to hold him closer. She knew she was safe in his arms.
The sun shone on the tops of the clouds, making them look like the world’s softest pillow. She knew how cold and wet they were—they’d just flown through them—but it was still a remarkably convincing illusion.
Brad veered a little into an air current, and she felt it lifting them up, pushing them a little closer to the brilliant sun. Above the clouds, it was harder for Rachel to see where they were headed, though she thought Brad had already turned north, in the direction of her apartment. Not quite as the crow flies; he was taking a slightly different path, probably to take advantage of the currents she felt brushing past them. As the dragon flies, she thought.
Her heart was in flight, too. Of course, she’d heard of dragon shifters. But in her mind, they’d all been old men, misers, cold and probably cruel. Why else would they hide away?
Meeting Brad had told her how wrong she was. And better yet, her true love might really be—
No. She knew it in her heart. Her true love was a dragon. He’d saved her life. He’d healed her wounds. And now he was carrying her home in his arms, keeping her safe.
She’d hoped for a husband someday, a family. But she’d never dreamed she could have a man who cared for her like this. Someone who treated her kindly, who wanted to protect her. Who loved her for exactly who she was.
It wasn’t a dream come true. It was better than anything she could have possibly dreamed.
Rachel’s apartment was a tiny second-floor efficiency on a dead-end street. Brad landed on the logging trail behind the house, made smooth in the winter from snowmachine traffic, and they went into the run-down farmhouse and up the stairs to her unit. It seemed drab after the lair. She was glad she’d taken the time to run the vacuum through, so at least it was reasonably clean.
Brad didn’t seem to mind any of it. “This is so nice,” he said.
Nice enough, she guessed. Mostly it was crammed with her junk; she’d moved to an efficiency a few months back when the house she’d been renting was sold, and hadn’t really consolidated as much as she’d really needed to. There were a lot of books, and a lot of rocks. Probably more clothes than she needed, when it came to that. And—
“Rachel?”
She turned her attention back to Brad. “Yes?”
“I didn’t want to ask in front of Doug, but do you have another snowsuit? He tends to…well, assume that money’s no object for anyone.”
“I do,” she said. “It’s not as good as the one they destroyed, but it’ll work to get the snowmobile back to the university, especially now it’s not storming.”
“All right,” he said. “Good. I guess we’ve got some time for a tour…maybe you could show me the bedroom?”
For half a second she wondered why she’d have to give him a tour of her tiny apartment. Then what he was actually suggesting sunk in. “I’d love to,” she said. “It’s not very big, but it’s all mine. I was in a duplex, but it got sold, and—” She shrugged. “It’s a tight market, with the University. At least that’s what they say.”
“It’s still nice,” he said. “It reminds me of you.”
“Crowded?” she said, feeling embarrassed that he was paying so much attention to her little space.
“Comfortable,” he said. “Like a home, not just a collection of riches.” He slipped his arm around her waist, and she felt her heart beat faster. “Now, I don’t want to get too carried away, but…I’m guessing the bedroom’s over there.”
The ‘bedroom’ was hidden from the living room by a half-wall. “You’re very perceptive,” she said.
He tilted his head down and kissed her hair. “I’d love to see it more closely.”
“Sure,” she said. walking toward the bed. “We offer turndown service.”
“You don’t say,” he said, happily. “That sounds pretty nice, right about now. I think I’ll have to experience it in person.”
“At least once,” she suggested. She pulled his sweater over his head. “Does now sound good?”
“Now sounds fantastic,” he said. He took her again in his arms and kissed her.
Rachel felt warmth wash over her body, from the crown of her head, splashing into her shoulders and breasts, pooling between her legs even as it went all the way down to her toes. She felt the muscles in Brad’s arms and chest, as solid as granite, but still warm and comforting. He tensed for a second, then swept her up in his arms and carried her toward the bed. It was covered with an old quilt that had been her grandmother’s, which he carefully turned down as he placed her—almost one-armed—on the sheets.
Rachel felt her heart beating fast, her breath coming still faster, as he pulled his t-shirt and jeans off. His eyes were locked on her. She should have felt self-conscious; no one had ever looked at her like this before, like she was the most important thing in his world, like she was the only woman he ever wanted to make love to again.
She felt like a queen.
He reached down and took hold of the hem of her sweater. “May I do the honors?” he asked.
She nodded.
He pulled her sweater off, then her long-sleeved t-shirt. He unbuttoned her jeans, and slid jeans, thermal underwear and panties off in one smooth movement. “That’s better,” he said, softly, and she could hear that Brad’s breath was coming fast, too. She looked down at his cock, tented through his expensive boxers. Her mouth watered.
“Yeah,” she agreed. “Much better.”
“I could look at you all day long,” he said. “But—”
He climbed into bed instead, his hands on her body again, stroking her sides and coming to rest on her chest, cupping her breasts through her bra. “But I want to do this too.” He found her nipples with this thumbs and teased them hard. She could hear his breathing, feel his body where it rested against hers. She could feel the warmth of the pendant on her chest. His heart’s magic.
She sat up a little so he could unhook her bra and pull it off, and he took the tip of her right breast into his mouth, teasing the nipple with his tongue. She moaned; he knew just the right way to touch her, to make electric pressure hum through her body. She was so wet she could feel moisture dripping down the inside of her legs. “Please,” she said.
He let her breast slip from his mouth, licking it hungrily before tipping his chin up to look at her face. “What do you want?” he asked.
She wanted more things than she could even say. She reached for him, pulling his mouth back to hers, and wrapped her legs around him. “Please,” she repeated.
“All right,” he said, and reached down to rub her clit with his thumb. He used slow, steady circles—it was like he could read her mind—and she felt a moan escape her lips. She opened her legs wider to let him in.
God, he was big. Perfectly big.
At the last moment, when she was braced for her to enter him, he slid his arms around her back and dropped, pulling her over on top of him—and pushing into her, hot and hard, at the same time.
“Oh,” she said, a little gasp of air, before he thrust up and in, harder, and she felt herself shaking with need. Her clit ached, throbbed, as she rode him, feeling the hard muscles of his thighs against hers. He cupped her breasts in his hands, teasing her nipples with his fingers. Every inch of her body was burning with need. She wanted more, harder, now.
She was filled, filled with his warmth, and his fingers sent more warmth through her body. She was loved, loved intensely, completely, and by a man who sent her every sense reeling.
Her body tensed and shuddered as she moved, almost without any of her own control. She was just responding, responding to the sea of touch and pleasure she was floating in, letting Brad’s motions guide her as the heat built and built inside her.
Until the dam finally broke, and she felt the orgasm flooding her, every inch of her body soaking in delirious pleasure. Her hips shuddered, and she felt Brad pulsing into her as he came, his ragged breath matching up with her own.
It took a long time for them both to still. When they’d ridden out the last throes of pleasure, he pulled her back into his arms and down onto the bed. She curled herself against his side.
“I could stay here forever,” he said.
“I felt the same way about your lair,” she said.
“We can have both, if you want. Or my apartment…or somewhere else. Somewhere that’s ours.”
“I’d like that,” she said. “I mean…in a little while.”
“Of course.” He squeezed her. “You can take as much time as you need. Or as much time as you think you’ll need to explain to people who aren’t shifters. It’s different for us.”
“I figured that out,” she said. She put her hand up to the pendant he’d given her. It felt warm to the touch, as it always did. “God, I don’t even know how I’ll explain you to Penelope. And I tell her everything.”
“Your sister?”
She nodded.
“Just tell her you met the greatest guy, and he’s got a bunch of rich brothers and cousins, and they can’t wait to meet her. The dragon stuff can come later. Dad says it’s easier to meet us first, when we’re not, you know, fire-breathing monsters.”
“Very funny,” she said, but she had to admit to herself it would be nice if Penelope found half the happiness that Rachel had experienced in the past twenty-four hours. Rachel wouldn’t have thought it was possible. “You forgot to tell me, too. When is your birthday?”
“Five days,” he said.
She did the math in your head. “Monday?”
He nodded.
“We’re going to have to celebrate,” she said.
“I don’t need any celebration.” He pulled her close and kissed her again, gently this time. “I’ve got everything I need, right here.”
“I’ll think of something,” she said. She didn’t want to think him to think that she was just going to sponge off his money, no matter how much he loved her…or how much money he had. She was going to be a partner to him, even if it wasn’t with money. “Maybe I’ll ask your uncle.”
“I can’t even imagine what he’d say,” he said, laughing.
“Me neither, which is why I should do it.” There were the pretty jeweled eggs in his hoard, too. Not all of them had been precious stones. There was a rock shop she and Karen went to a lot that usually had eggs and other carved objects; she might be able to find one with Brad’s birthstone. Amethyst was really pretty when it was carved. Or maybe an egg carved from her birthstone…
“Usually we have a family dinner at the lair, if you can make it.”
“I’ll make it,” she said. “You’re my mate, right?”
“Yeah,” he said. “And you’re mine.”
“You’re damn right I am.” She put her head down against his broad chest and closed her eyes, warm and safe in her mate’s arms.
***